Why this conservative says a Sanders presidency would be "healthy" for America

2016 is shaping up to be the most extraordinary of years for American politics. The rise of Donald Trump was predicted by precisely no one (besides Trump himself).

Meanwhile, despite how hard the Democratic Party tries to get Hillary through the primaries, Bernie Sanders continues to trend upwards. This despite a 24-hour news cycle that told us for four years that Clinton would breeze through the nomination process.

As a Canadian who has found nothing but discontent with US politics, I'm filled with excitement over the prospect of a Trump vs. Sanders scenario.

Both candidates appeal to me as conservative, which may seem odd considering that one is a boorish populist, and the other is a radical leftist.

But regardless of these differences, and despite what each candidate proclaims, they have much more in common than either side would care to admit -- and much more to offer conservatives than one may think.

First of all, neither of these men are politicians. Instead, they are dissidents from America’s political structure. That neither candidate is particularly well-versed in dealing with the political establishment, is a strength, not a weakness. Bernie may be more experienced, considering that he was a senator, but he never actually became a registered Democrat until last year, and remained distant from the two main parties all his life.

But being outsiders isn’t the only thing these two have in common. Both Bernie and Trump have positioned themselves as opponents to political correctness. Trump has been much more explicit in this regard, but Sanders also deserves much credit. Sanders doesn’t throw the words “racist”, “homophobic”, and “sexist” around, as opposed to people like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, or Hillary Clinton who can’t form a rebuttal without accusing their opponents of some sort of bigotry. This is so refreshing coming from the Left, and a big reason why so many Americans are aligning themselves with him.

This race is also a direct referendum on the Obama administration, even more so than the 2012 election. The fact that the American population, both Republicans and Democrats, are on the verge of selecting such anti-establishment candidates, proves the obvious point that the public hates the current establishment.

President Obama ran as a unifier above all else, and considering this current wave of public dissatisfaction with everything, this has been his greatest failure. At the end of the day, President Obama was a very conventional Democrat, even though he ran on being so much more. Hillary Clinton has marketed herself as a natural continuation of Obama, and registered Democrats don’t like it. That speaks volumes.

A Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders race would likely lead to the most issue-based presidential race in recent memory. Most importantly, it would leave all the identity politics at the door. Finally, no more campaigning on race, sexual orientation, or any other wedge issue where name calling is the go-to tactic.

That being said, nothing is certain yet. Trump seems like a shoe-in for the Republican nomination, but the Sanders battle will be much tougher. Lucky for him, Clinton’s sheer un-likability seems to be hurting her once again, and that may end up being her downfall, despite having a huge institutional advantage of being the “real” Democrat.

In the end, as a conservative, a Democrat victory will be hard to accept, but a Clinton victory is the worst outcome. At least if Sanders comes out on top, the shakeup would probably be healthy for American democracy.

Clinton represents another four years of Obama. (Correction: Clinton is another four years of a less cool, less interesting, and less likable Obama, and neither side of the political spectrum wants that.)

In a semi-profound way, a Trump or Bernie victory would prove that the American public really does have a voice in affecting how the system is run, and at least that’s a step in the right direction.

Comments

A “clever” argument to be sure, but the Saunders “wake-up legacy” would come at a time when the Western World cannot afford another four years of demise… Americans do need a slap in the face, as do many European nations, but so much damage has been done already by Barak Hussein Obama that the coming months, let alone years, are critical…

Nice piece! Indeed this election reflects a wholehearted discontent with the status quo- however I envy the left for putting a true leftist to combat them, the Right rallying around Trump may disappoint conservatives as hes not a true conservative but simply a populist.

What we have to hope for here is that America doesn’t elect Hillary just because she’s a woman like they elected Obama just because he’s black. Obama is killing the country and Hillary would finish it off. She might even be worse. My choice would definately be Cruz but the trouble is the dems have to be stopped at all cost so if Trump is the best hope for that than so be it. The best thing about Trump is he can’t be bought and he’ll stop the illegal immigration which is out of control. Cruz, however, would be an excellent pres.

Thing is the Democratic process is little more than a thinly veiled coronation ceremony for Hilary. If Sanders did become the nominee there would be cheering and partying in GOP camps because he will be an easy kill for any GOP nominee. Hilary has more Teflon than her husband and will be next to impossible to beat.